Our Kiddo Flash Craft Challenge Holiday Party!

Oh. My. Heavens. PEEPS.

We did it!

We survived our first (perhaps annual, if I can muster the energy again this time, next year) Kiddo Flash Craft Challenge Holiday Party! Woohoo!

Heeeeeere are my crazies anxiously awaiting their guests tonight.

And here they are, impatiently smiling for a quick pic as the first car was pulling up. Which means this was also the final few seconds of the calm before the storm, ha.



And, now. Lemme rewind a bit and tell you how this whole thing came about.

There were really two reasons behind my big push to throw a kiddo shindig.

First: we are really ALL IN this holiday season. We kicked things off over Halloween with a nice, long, overlapping visit of grandparents. Then we hosted my side for a full and festive Thanksgiving. We’re hosting the hubby’s side for Christmas. And, truthfully, with all that (and a million other kiddo commitments and neighborhood parties, etc.), it just felt let we might as well throw one more massive thing on our list, ha.

Insanity, perhaps. BUT. Insanity with a side dose of purpose behind it. Which brings me to the second reason I decided to just rip off the bandage and do this.

The kiddos have each made some really lovely friend connections this year, and/or strengthened budding relationships from last year. But it’s just so, dang hard to connect outside of school. I mean, don’t even get me started on the process of tracking down parent contact information (more on that later). But it’s also just as hard to work around everyone’s extra-curricular activities, sibling schedules, hefty homework, family time, illnesses, and a whole slew of other things on the list.

So I decided I wanted to create a reason to gather up all these names and faces I’ve heard so much about—and to try and facilitate a fun, holiday memory for my kiddos in the process.

Now. GOD BLESS my kiddos’ teachers, who had to assist in the parental contact information process. Privacy regulations through the public schools these days make it so angsty to try and connect. But I’m blessed with kind teachers who did their best to help me in this process (which took several weeks!), and I wouldn’t have been able to pull it off without their help.

Once this idea solidified, I knew I needed to put my own personal spin on it, and center it around what our household loves and does best: projects! So I came up with the ideal of a Flash Craft party (basically, as many crafts as we could accomplish in our allotted time, amidst mass chaos), and set about the task of tracking everyone down and making things official.

In the end, I asked the kiddos to each give me a handful of names of their closest classmate friends, and I’m ridiculously thrilled to say that EVERY. SINGLE. KIDDO. we invited said yes, and showed up—with not a single illness or cancelation, and I just have no words for that! I truly feel like it was a God thing, allowing us to pull this off. And I could not be more grateful that the fruits of all this labor were worth it.

By the time all was said and done, we had a gaggle of 17 ridiculously happy kiddos thundering up and down and around our casa, and the monstrous noise was truly the BEST sound in the world—especially coming off of the heels of these pandemic seasons.

Our house was bursting to the gills with energy, rambunctiousness, food, craft supplies, and parents (about half who stayed the whole time and half who had to come and go as they were shuffling siblings elsewhere), and it was just wonderful.

As predicted, we only accomplished about four of the seven projects I had locked and loaded, but everyone seemed to have an absolute blast, and it was such a joy to meet so many kiddos I’ve heard about over and over and over again from my crazies. 

Now. A slew of pics of our setup…

I ordered some canvas bags online in bulk and drew tree outlines on them for each kiddo to color with fabric markers. I knew they’d be weighed down with their completed projects as they left, so this served the dual purpose of giving them something to decorate as they were settling in, as well as something to haul all their goods in. :)

 

A second project was these giant snowflakes for the kiddos to decorate with sticker gems…





A third project was these pipe cleaner trees with bead ornaments that I sort of made up after seeing something online that sparked the idea…





A fourth project (that we never managed to get to, so I sent some home with kiddos) were these sticker wreaths…

And the final project were these “stained glass” ornaments that we’ve actually done before with some little friends—and I never managed to catch a good pic of them, ha.

Basically, we tackled a project, gave them a snack. Tackled a project, gave them some hot chocolate bombs. Tackled a project, fed them some dinner. Tackled a project and sent them running around like maniacs.

It all worked so well in that best kind of mass chaos energy way, and I’m so grateful.

I continue to be so impressed with the connections my kiddos make at school and elsewhere. They always gravitate toward kind, playful and positive kiddos—and often, the parents I meet are just as lovely. And tonight was no exception.

Honestly, I think so many of the other parents were just as grateful to connect and make contact, and happy to have a reason to do so, and someone to instigate it all. Which makes alllllll the work that went into this sooooo worth it.

My hubby was a rockstar, helping me serve and round up kiddos and assist with supplies and projects.

And perhaps most shocking of all for the evening: two hours after the last guest left, we had kiddos showered and asleep, and the house completely cleaned up and re-set. I mean…I have no words! It was glorious. And now I have I put-together house, and only massive amounts of laundry to tackle this weekend. :)

Chica has choir performances tomorrow and Tuesday evening, but beyond that, things should really slow down for me, personally, this week. And I’m SO ready for a bit of a breather.

But…’tis the season for all this chaos and joy, amiright? And I’m grateful for this happy holiday memory, in the books. :)

HAPPY FREAKING WEEKEND, peeps!

Over and out.

P.S. From the mouths of babes: a handful of the parents sent me such lovely texts later this evening, and the kiddo reviews of the party just made my heart burst. 

One of Chicklet’s little friends told his mama that Chicklet and I “sure know how to throw a party.” Another little friend wouldn’t stopping to tell the neighbors (during a late evening walk) about the party he’d just been to. And another told her mom it was the best party she’d ever been to—EVER. 

Total, complete, absolute VICTORY. If the kiddos are happy, this Mama is ELATED.